#freestyle media critique?

[panicfast]

Do u have any art tips/advice, especially like anything on how you draw figures and faces? I really love your work! I’m trying to get like u bro (and read that last part in a gym bro voice)

thank u so much !!🫶🫶 I would say ofc the main thing is consistent practice but I think this advice specifically on how to practice drawing . Anything at all still holds up !

how I specifically draw faces and figures is just a result of years of study and emulating various other artists until it’s basically melded into my current way of drawing … I wouldn’t know how to give advice on that😭

ALSO. controversial perhaps but I think as a beginner there’s no harm in tracing art you like (so long as you don’t go around claiming it to be ur own ofc) and trying to freestyle based on that afterwards .. don’t be scared in experimenting on various styles you like ! You’d only be stifling yourself on being stringent on one.

ALSOO life drawing classes helped me a lot with figures but there’s so many sources online for that kind of thing. Something like this is a great way of practicing figures but it’s also timed so u can focus on the important basics and not scrutinise over perfection

BASICALLY it all boils down to a mix of practicing the basics, being inspired by other media, not being afraid of critique but also don’t let it get in the way of like !!! having fun with it !!!! cause that’s what’s essential to creating at the end of the day ☝️🤓

[plunder-heaven-and-devour-god]

Tropes!

My brother and I are discussing how to put out tropey indulgent media out there while still making original content that is aware of its environment. 

We were looking at tropes and stupidities that we never get tired of in movies/books/games and why we still kind of want them in our content. For example, I can’t get enough of Enemies to Lovers and the bro loves the Jerk with a Heart of Gold Trope. How do you incorporate that into new original ways to stories that still feature a socially conscious voice?

You cannot slap on traits of that trope and expect it to work. You cannot frame the shortcomings of the trope as ideal and you cannot gloss over the ramifications of the trope. Discard what is harmful, take what you love, and run with it. 

EDUCATE YOURSELF, really though, figure out the shortcomings of this trope. Where does it fail? Where does it succeed? I know that my Enemies to Lovers falls through A LOT! How many times do you find  they’re battling each other and clearly the writers weren’t aware of the rules of said trope and they end up being ultimately flat and abusive? The Byronic Hero being the other one people get wrong A LOT. How do you tread that line with elements that can easily run into abusive and violent (or fucking stupid for that matter)? Same for the Jerk with a Heart of Gold  trope, which done properly is great. How many of us have fallen prey to any character who cracks wise and makes bad decisions but ultimately loves and cares? If done badly it treads into dismissive/belittling/abusive 

To give examples of two shortcomings and two successes with these tropes I’ll offer up:

Byronic Hero:

Good: Mr Rochester 

Bad: Literally any bad YA love interest

“Byronic heroes are charismatic characters with strong passions and ideals, but who are nonetheless deeply flawed individuals who may act in ways which are socially reprehensible because he's definitely contrary to his mainstream society. A Byronic hero is on his own side and has his own set of beliefs which he will not bow nor change for anyone. A Byronic hero is a character whose internal conflicts are heavily romanticized and who himself ponders and wrestles with his struggles and beliefs. Some are portrayed with a suggestion of dark crimes or tragedies in their past.” THE LITERAL BYRONIC HERO TROPE PAGE

I feel like that biblical paragraph sums up the Byronic Hero. Where lets say Rochester and Frankenstein or their modern equivalents never have their behaviour or actions framed as good, we still find ourselves engaging with them. It’s indulgent in its admission. It has to be your bag, and it’s that you have to be here for. You have to like engaging with a character that has done bad things but still has enough emotional relatability that instills fascination. 

What is not fascinating/enjoying/attractive is watching bad YA that frames these bad qualities as ideal or go as far as to fetishize them. For instance, the possessive boyfriend angle ‘cause it’s hot is one of my PET PEEVES. YOU WILL ALWAYS GET MORE TRACTION WITH FRAMING THEM AS BAD THAN HAVING THEM DO CREEPY SHIT AND BANKING ON US EMOTIONALLY ENGAGING WITH THEM POSITIVELY. (Looking at you Tiger’s Curse)

You have to be aware where the trope works and where it doesn’t. The authors of bad YA have the intent to make them conflicted/tragic/flawed but don’t really want to examine what made those byronic heroes enjoyable. Instead they take surface attributes and slap them on. Byronic Hero is hiding a wife in the attic (BAD and framed as such)! Bad YA Love Interest is demeaning and patronizing to flirt (BAD and framed as good!) Challenges God and Nature and is NOW A FATHER (Not So Great Frankenstein and not framed as such) . Bad YA Love Interest is physically possessive because that is what this demographic finds sexy (BAd and framed as Good)

Here is an alternative! YA Love interest does bad shit and its not framed as anything good! The protag can react with more autonomy than :Oh that’s hot and my reader’s will think so too! The protag can be dismissive, angry, or shitty right back! No one is absolved! But you can still engage with them on a more nuanced level. You can suddenly make connections with the Byronic Hero because you understand their fear or their conflict, rather have it be a lazy flashback to explain why your bad YA Love Interest is being shitty. 

How to be indulgent: Make your awful characters awful and frame them as such! IF you’re able to create a subtle character that warrants the trope then clearly they have what it takes to be engaging! 

The Jerk with a Heart of Gold trope:

Good: Iron Man (I know people with debate this but we like him in this house so go with it) 

Bad: Any sitcom husband ever

“A person you would expect to be a big Jerkass has some redeeming qualities behind their tough demeanor. Occasionally, they'll try to make it a Hidden Heart of Gold.” - The Jerk with a Heart of Gold TV Tropes Page. 

Awareness is a big factor in incorporating this trope into new ideas and new content because I don’t think this one is ever going away. It obviously manifests in different capacities and genres. But I chose the above examples because they’re familiar, and can be played for drama and laughs. 

Tony Stark is a good iteration Jerk with a Heart of Gold because his actions aren’t framed as harmless or irrelevant. He is a hot mess, he says it himself. He makes bad decision after bad decision and endangers himself and others in the process. Why does he still have a heart of gold? He still gets the “save the cat moment” and he is given time to show his conflict and reasoning as relatable.  He creates Ultron, sides with the UN in Civil War (I still see a lot of his motivation as valid which to each their own when it comes to that movie). He does so out of guilt and the desperate need to hold himself accountable. Being the only person on the avengers who fights by ways of inventions he has understood the consequences of bringing this technology in the world and stepping up an arms race. And yet he continues to fight. To an audience we see his shortcomings as an individual. And yet we feel for him. He is framed with a more subtle dialogue, he is flawed, he tries to be heroic, but he has no clue what he’s doing, and continues anyways.        

I bring Sitcom Husband up because so often show writers will create Sitcom Husband with harmful and toxic male coded traits in mind. They are:

Callous, lazy, clueless, domineering, stupid, always wrong, uglier than their partner, enforce toxic gendered norms, homophobic, transphobic, and/or racist? 

You are not framing your Sitcom Husband’s actions as shitty and bad and worthy of changing. They are being framed as commonplace, expected, and normal. These are not just “jerk” things to do, they are emblematic of larger social issues that many sitcom writers shouldn’t be allowed to tackle. There is the opportunity to have characters that evolve and change but they aren’t allowed because they represent you, the male viewer, and you are shitty and unable of changing. And to all the other genders out there: this is your lot and life, this is how people will treat you. 

Flawed Superhero sides with the UN (Not Ideal but Framed with Good intentions). Sitcom Husband cant remember anything relevant about children’s lives (NOT GREAT but framed as commonplace instead emblematic of a larger issue).

To give an example of Sitcom dads who don’t hit this bad note: Bob from Bob’s Burgers is great, he’s tired of his family’s Shenanigans, but loves them and would do anything for them. An example of Jerk with a Heart of Gold that doesn’t have his shitty actions framed as okay but is still likeable (sounds a bit Byronic Heroish but he’s not trust me). 

The Lens:

Gender

The Byronic Hero and the Jerkass with a Heart of Gold are very gender laden tropes as well. The moment you apply these tropes to people who are not cis men, they transform in meaning, and not to mention, there are BARELY ANY OF THEM. Just trying to find villains who are just cis women with proper writing is a task in 2018. These terms get applied to men and their definitions are validated by their interaction with heroines or other men. 

The failed Byronic Hero is aimed at “female audiences”. It’s a tangled snare of a male content creators guessing at what “women” want and women who have fetishized and internalized the failures of this trope. All come to the conclusion that “chicks dig bad boys”. Not to be that person, but it also vastly misunderstands the appeal that Byronic Heroes have for all genders. It is extremely difficult to create new content that pays homage to this trope without hitting the pitfalls of most media. 

The failed Jerk with a Heart of Goal is aimed at a gender dichotomous audience. It’s a snub of content creators of what they think, you, man or woman, are. The faults are framed as inevitable manifestations of gender and yet still excusable because these jerk related tendencies are just part of being man or a woman, and not a vast social system that favours few and marginalizes many. This extends to race and sexuality as well. Your jerkishness is thanks to your identity, and therefore, unchangeable. 

Race

From a race perspective? They’re all white. We are at a point in Western Media, at the very least, where diversity is becoming an increasing demand. But with media content creators still being part of an out of touch racial group, it’s difficult to see any character, let alone anyone with the discussed tropes represented. We are at the point where your diversity, if a larger role, is going to be portrayed as perfect. This is a major issue I take with creating poc, and woc characters, not to mention characters of different gender and sexual identities. There aren’t enough diverse content creators to get us past this block of creators making them perfect because they don’t know how to make a human character who is also of color. 

This makes the Jerkass with a Heart of Gold impossible to tackle. We are starting to see more fleshed out characters nowadays. It is still a fairly recent sensation to HAVE A SELECTION to chose from.

I would love it if Byronic Heroes and Jerks With A Heart of Gold came in color. We are meant to watch white guys do bad shit and engage with the conflict of their character. And as a mixed race women it is definitely a weird place to sit when one does enjoy tropes like that. IT’s even more unsettling when we can’t extend that empathetic engagement  to men of color, or woc, or god forbid, trans people. (let everyone have a byronic hero honestly)

And in a world of hate crimes and deplorable race relations, what is the relevancy of this trope? What is the relevancy of this trope in a visual mass media already saturated with badly written YA Love Interest or Not So Deep Byronic Heroes?

I’m not an expert, but as a  consumer of books/tv/movies/etc I don’t think fiction is the root of all mankind’s evil and I don’t think fading this trope out of visual mass media is going to get rid of it. I, personally, think we need more content creators of color, of different gender identities, and different sexualities reinterpreting Jerk Ass with a Heart of Gold and the Byronic Hero.

Gender Binary and Sexuality

I chose these two tropes because they’re traditionally VERY gender related. And I mention this to clarify that the market is aimed at a gender binary: straight girl or straight boy. Gays, Bis, Non Binary, Gender fluid, or trans folk, for example, are left out of the equation of: what do they want to see in media?

I do know that for as long as evil has existed there has always been a very clear coding as to what the villain’s sexuality might be. It’s clearly deplorable how literally the only representation a huge marginalized community get will be in the form of a morally or sexually debauched villain. Which is why I will never forgive LeFou being made gay (you couldn’t have picked any other character from your 600000 other features Disney?). 

Also as a Cis woman, I don’t feel like I can do an accurate run down of how indulgent tropes fail or succeed with a LGBT lens. I have a base idea of WHAT NOT TO DO but I would rather see other people talk about it! 

 So PLEASE! Add to this discussion! I would love to hear about which tropes you love but where media fails you and in what capacity! Or where they’ve gone right! 

But as someone who loves their tropey enemies-to-lovers and villains I will keep returning to them in my media consumption and I be subject to paying them homage when the time is appropriate! 

That being said! I had no clue this would get so long.

[female-malice]

Before you read any further, I’d like to ask that everyone who wants to disseminate my statement would agree to release my statement in full. I do not want any partial releases of my statement and do not with to make further comments.

Dear NCAA,

I would like to address this past week’s events and express my thoughts. First, I would like to remind everyone that I am a human being and that as a human being I experience feelings and emotions.

My name is Reka Gyorgy from Hungary. I am a 2016 Rio Olympian, represented Virginia Tech for the past 5 years, a 2 time ACC Champion, 2 time All-American and 3 time Honorable Mention All-American.

With all due respect, I would like to address something that is a problem in our sport right now and hurting athletes, especially female swimmers. Everyone has heard and known about transgender, Lia Thomas, and her case including all the issues and concerns that her situation brought to our sport. I’d like to point out that I respect and fully stand with Lia Thomas; I am convinced that she is no different than me or any other D1 swimmer who as woken up at 5am her entire life for morning practice. She has sacrificed family vacations and holidays for a competition. She has pushed herself to the limit to be the best athlete she could be. She is doing what she is passionate about and deserves that right. On the other hand, I would like to critique the NCAA rules that allow her to compete against us, who are biologically women.

I’m writing this letter right now in hopes that the NCAA will open their eyes and change these rules in the future. It doesn’t promote our sport in a good way and I think it is disrespectful against the biologically female swimmer who are competing in the NCAA.

I swam the 500 freestyle at NCAA’s on March 17th, 2022 where I got 17th which means I did not make it back to the finals and was first alternate. I’m a 5th year senior. I have been top 16 and top 8 before and I know how much of a privilege it is to make finals at a meet this big. This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like that final spot was taken away from be because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete. I know you could say I had the opportunity to swim faster and make the top 16, but this situation make it a bit different and I can’t help but be angry or sad. It hurts me, my team and other women in the pool. One spot was taken away from the girl who got 9th in the 500 free and didn’t make it back to the A final preventing her from being an All-American. Every event that transgender athlete competed in was one spot taken away from biological females throughout the meet.

The NCAA knew what was coming this past week. They knew opinions and minds will be divided and chose to do nothing. This week has been more about reporters, media and division in our sport than things like two women going under 21 seconds in the 50 freestyle, 3 women going under 50 seconds in the 100 butterfly and the first women IN HISTORY to go under 49 seconds in the 100 backstroke. Thursday was not a specific athlete’s fault. It is the result of the NCAA and their lack of interest in protecting their athletes. I ask that the NCAA takes time to think about all the other biological women in swimming, try to think how they would feel if they would be in our shoes. Make the right changes for our sport and for a better future in swimming.

Thank you for reading, Reka Gyorgy, Virginia Tech swimmer

[chalkrevelations]

Huh.

Well, this is not the next episode reaction you were expecting, but a while back, in the middle of the night, while I was ready to cry from working on a pharmacology paper, out of nowhere, Youtube threw up Street Dance of China S3 Ep1 at me. And yeah. I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show. (There are enough SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal that I feel there’s no point denying this.)

So – no, actually, wait. FIRST of all, I do NOT believe the “towel vote” we ended up being given for the opening routines from the four captains. That was the most blatant bit of bullshit chicanery I’ve seen in my LIFE, and I say this as a person with a ton of SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal, and I also say this not because Wang Yibo ended up last (well, not entirely), but because I saw Wallace Chung’s routine. As someone closer in age to him than to the other three captains, I have to give him props for trying, but come on, man. The critique that Yibo got from random contestants – if the subtitles are to be believed, so I realize this needs a grain of salt - basically boiled down to “it was too good for the stage lighting.” :hands: Also, I saw your face at the reveal, Wallace, and you were as shocked as I was. No way you got more towels/votes than Wang Yibo. Not unless there’s some super wild undercurrent of nostalgia propping you up, which, I guess could happen, because literally all I know about pop culture in China, current or otherwise, is filtered through Tumblr and Youtube, both notoriously suspect, but … anyway. There’s got to be a TON of behind-the-scenes manipulation going on for Yibo to be rock-bottom with last pick of teams but then also to end up with THAT pool of possibles. Are you kidding me with this?

ANYWAY, what I wanted to say is that I actually really like Wang Yibo here, and it’s not just because he’s the only captain I have even a sliver of familiarity with, and it’s not just because Lan Wangji was banging Wei Wuxian. I do realize all of this is influenced by whatever edit they’ve decided to give a particular captain or contestant, but I’m impressed with the way Yibo immediately starts team building by getting his group into a warmup, getting them dancing together, getting them dancing with him before they have to worry about dancing for him. (I mean, come on, Jackson Wang. The way to get people to stop being nervous is not to say “Stop being nervous! It will make you fuck up!”) The way Yibo immediately recognized and responded to his group’s concerns about that one dude copying someone else’s routine probably also bought him a lot of return investment. He’s dressed to work it, in his sweats and his flannel (what IS that fake-leather TAC vest and random leg holster-looking thing, Jackson Wang?). He’s convincing me he really loves to dance, he can’t hold still while he watches the contestants, he’s wandering over into other captains’ turf when it sounds like there’s a dancer performing who he might like to see, he’s being the best Yibo he can be, and I’m grooving along, wind in my hair, totally down for this ride. He’s also adorable at the beginning when all the other captains are like, my goal for this season is to slaughter the competition and dance on their graves! And he’s like, well, I’d like to … make some friends? And learn some new stuff? I don’t know if the perpetual Humble Student schtick is natural or persona, or whether it’s general or specific to dancing, but it’s working for you, my dude. This is also made better (read: ironic), by the fact that it’s immediately before the towel reveal, when he flips over to utter disbelief and gets all sulky for a while over the “fact” that his dance routine got the least votes.

Also, OH WAIT. This is where that clip of Yibo dancing with his crew ALL OVER HIM came from that I saw floating around a few months ago, isn’t it? You’re telling me those guys had never danced together before and had like, three minutes to throw together that routine? I’m even more impressed than before. Meanwhile, the towels symbolize courage and challenge, Mr. Emcee? OK, fine, cheesy reality show blah blah whatever. Can we get to the dancing now?

I’m going to put the rest of this behind a cut, because it got super long, because it turns out, when you watch in 5-minute increments, it takes two and a half weeks to get through a single episode, but you actually can see and have opinions on all 5,328 contestants, plus every single one of the captains’ battles. Meanwhile, I’m trying to convince myself this is not going to be another series of episode reactions, but 1) I do have the benefit of not having a ton of hometown media giving me a next-day play-by-play, so even though this is six months old, everything’s a surprise; 2) I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show; and 3) it’s easy to watch in 5-minute increments between researching drug interactions in hypothetical hypertensive patients with stable ischemic heart disease, erectile dysfunction, and seasonal allergies. So, I guess we’ll see. It’ll be slow going, though, because I don’t ever have two and half hours to sit down and watch an ep cover-to-cover – if it happens, it will likely keep happening in 5-minute increments. Meanwhile, there is a metric shit-ton of nattering below the cut, so caveat lector. No, seriously, I kept adding to this little by little until it became a monster. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

OK, I am generally out of my depth here, as this is not at all my area of dance not-really-expertise, but some reactions:

Team Wang Yibo: I can see why he didn’t want to choose between Colin and Dian Men – Colin might have been a touch better technically and a better showman, but Dian Men didn’t seem to have a single wasted move – but, also, my dude. Yibo. You maybe should look a little bit less stunned and overwhelmed by the mere presence of Colin, it’s giving me ideas about your taste in men. Continuing with the powerhouses, I probably shouldn’t even attempt to critique Klash, but I did feel like he was a bit stiff in some of his footwork; that final V kick, though, shit, that’s what having that kind of upper-body strength is for. Bouboo … I mean, excellent flexibility and control, of course, but mainly I’m just terribly amused that Yibo got last pick of teams but somehow ended up with the guy who’s literal world champion, and who’s just as useful for getting into the other captains’ heads – without even trying – as he is for his talent. And then there’s a montage of Yibo giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you cannot keep up this pace. There are still too many dancers to see, and you don’t have that many towels. AAANNNND Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Jackson Wang: I do like Gai Gai, although that may be influenced by the fact she’s working in the twilight area between hip-hop and contemporary that I have more familiarity with - but also, I suspect she’s pretty good in her genre. I thought Xiao Jie was inconsistent and didn’t stick the landing on his initial attempt, so I have to give you that hesitation, Jackson, even though you’ve somehow ended up the villain in my inner narrative for this show, for no particular reason I can yet discern. Maybe it’s that you’re the direct competition for Yibo’s team in the towel battles. Good enough. Anyway, Xiao Jie definitely stepped up his game for the battle with Bingo, so I can kind of see why both of them got a towel, but we’re not even halfway through this, and most of y’all are giving away towels like you have an endless supply. Yang Kai is a fucking menace with fantastic musicality, and I’m just gonna say it and take the fallout - I think he gave a better performance first time out of the gate than any of Yibo’s powerhouses did. Whatever power Klash has got, whatever skill Bouboo has got, Yang Kai feels more explosive and engaging, at least in these initial showings. He’s going to be one to beat, I’d hug him too, if he was on my team and was going to help me WIN. Yibo’s probably lucky that happened during his little stroll over to check out the competition, so that he can see they’re definitely competitive and be prepared for it. Also, Jackson, I have to admit - that face you made when Chao really kicked in? That was the same face I made, because wt actual f, you have a literal secret weapon – secret because he CAME FROM NOWHERE and NO ONE EVEN KNOWS him, how is that even possible, how did he get that good – fluid, creative, controlled, incredible musicality - without anyone having any idea who he even is? And then there’s a montage of Jackson just giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you need to slow down. You can’t just be like, “THEY LOVE DANCE WITH ALL OF THEIR WHOLE HEARTS!!!!1111!!!!11!” I get it, but everyone there loves dance with all of their whole hearts, and there are not enough towels to send all of them on to the next round. ANNNND, Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Lay Zhang: lol at how diplomatic you’re being, Lay Zhang – your team’s fierce roar startled you, OK. At this point, I suspect you’re the street most likely to have a knife fight break out before this is all over. I do like Alex, I think he’s got a lot of interesting, super-clean details in his moves, and he’s engaging - I cannot BELIEVE you made him battle that dude whose moves were so mushy, Lay Zhang, it leaves me doubting your ability to judge this thing. At first I thought maybe you were just looking for an excuse because you wanted to see Alex freestyle, but then you actually said something about both dancers being equal, and my estimation of you plummeted, and also sadly, my sound dropped out for the actual battle, including the part where the clearly inferior dancer fell over and then accidentally POPPED ALEX ONE IN THE EYE, and I TOLD YOU SO. I do agree it’s a good idea to make dancers in the same genre do some battling, so you can kind of plan out your towels and put together a team with broad strengths, instead of giving out towels like you’re making it rain for the first 20 contestants, and then you have 1,375 more people to get through, with 3 towels left, as EVERYONE ELSE seems to be doing, so it’s nice that at least one of you guys is thinking – if not actually acting - strategically. That was clearly not even a contest, though, GIVE ALEX HIS TOWEL and send him to the next round. Xiao Bao is hilarious, with his concern that his team captain, who’s into krump, which is “beating,” isn’t going to appreciate his waacking, which is “slapping.” I also don’t know a whole lot about waacking, so thanks for the primer, Xiao Bao, and don’t worry, your performance is just as engaging for those of us who don’t know what we’re watching as you are generally. You deserve that towel for your ability to interact with and engage your audience, alone. Lingo is a good solid performance, although he’s got his team captain strategizing edited over some of it, and here’s the thing: we are 1:56:00 into this, at this point, with another half hour to go, and all of you are starting to disappear into the sea of dancers who are very good at what you do, but at generally the same level? Anyway, Lingo, I approve of your ability to interact with your audience (read: your captain) to ensure engagement, too, so keep that up. Annnd, we actually haven’t seen that much of you guys, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

Team Wallace Chung: I’m glad Su Lian Ya insisted on performing, I thought she started off slow but warmed up, and that ending was creepily fantastic and had me spontaneously grinning at the screen in delight. Then we lose sight of this group for a really long time, actually. We go back to find Wallace putting through a couple of urban dancers who we barely see, but who apparently claim to have some choreography experience, and he really likes that. TI shows up, and they’re solid, but honestly, not as good in this performance as they were in some of the stock footage the show threw up to introduce them, but Wallace remains super-excited about the idea of choreography and sends at least choreographer Zhang Jiang Peng through to the next round. And then, we really haven’t seen that much of you guys, either, which maybe doesn’t bode well, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

FOOTNOTE 1, aka TOWEL BATTLE ONE, Team Yibo vs. Team Jackson, 3V3 freestyle: First of all, I have to say, I love Yibo - Mr. I Just Wanna Make Some Friends And Have Some Fun - being all, “I have three crappy white towels I’m stuck with for coming in last place that I can’t use to send dancers to the next round and that I DO NOT DESERVE, and I am getting BACK the colorful towels that ARE RIGHTFULLY MINE. I am coming for whoever is in my way.” Team Yibo is Bouboo, Klash, Dian Men, and OK, given what we’ve seen so far, that’s the safe choice, but honestly, I think we’re just taking some things for granted right now, and I’m not sure they actually have given the best performances so far. Yeah, I said it. Team Jackson is Yang Kai, Chao, and Xiao Jie, and … ok, on that last one, I think you probably could have substituted Bingo, but all right. Yang Kai is a definite yes. Chao will be great if he can stay out of his own head and not psych himself out, but given what we’ve seen so far, he’s an obvious pick. First round, Yang Kai vs. Klash, and Yang Kai is still a fucking menace, with super lines. Klash definitely stepped up his game for the battle, and I can’t get over the upper body strength he’s got, to get that kind of airy bounce in his moves, but to be honest, I can’t even be mad the first round went to Yang Kai and Team Jackson. Second round, Yang Kai is still … y’all, the beautiful lines from this guy in his poses, I can’t get over them, but I think he doesn’t have the stamina, his footwork is getting sloppy. Bouboo also steps up his game for an actual battle, his fluidity and control is amazing, and yeah, round to Team Yibo. Round three, Xiao Jie gives it a decent effort, but the polish isn’t there; meanwhile Bouboo is still in champion mode, and I was kind of surprised this was a split vote and went to another round. Xiao Jie absolutely surprised me, coming back stronger on his second try, although I suppose a more familiar genre helped, but Bouboo continues in champion mode. Round four, Chao looks like he’s going to throw up right before he steps out there, and then as soon as the music starts, it’s like, he doesn’t even think. The music just moves him. I feel like his dance vocabulary is more limited than Bouboo’s, though, and Bouboo’s flow is amazing at this point, so I feel like the judges just want to drag this out and see more dancing when we go to one more round. Strong effort all around, but yeah, round four and two towels to Team Yibo. I can’t really complain about that. I do feel like Yibo’s powerhouses have been holding back until now, though, and I’m not sure how I feel about THAT.

FOOTNOTE 2, aka TOWEL BATTLE TWO, Team Zhang vs. Team Wallace, 3V3 w/ captain: lol, Team Zhang really wants someone to pick the Sailor Moon song because they know Xiao Bao and his waacking will tear it up. Anyway, Team Zhang includes Lingo and Xiao Bao, who does not get his Sailor Moon song and continues to be hilarious in his disbelief about being chosen to participate in this battle, when he’s not looking almost as sick as Chao from Team Jackson before HIS performance. Team Wallace includes Su Lian Ya – and honestly, despite how I’m getting ready to bag on him for the entire rest of this battle recap, I like that Wallace put one of his female dancers up there for the battle - and some dude named Ba that they haven’t given us any footage of, up ‘til now, at least that I can remember and who I … don’t even know has been formally given a towel and sent on to the next round, yet? Oh wait, he must have, because there’s talk in the pause for choreography about somehow using the towels during the battle. Wallace relies on Su Lian Ya and Zhang Jiang Peng to choose Ba, and then Ba ends up choreographing a lot of the performance, at least from the edit we see. I continue to feel you may be in over your head, Wallace. This feeling … is not assuaged by your performance in the first round, which is fine, but not really up to the level of almost anyone whose name I’ve bolded so far in this entire recap. Also, using the towels was a cute idea, but it doesn’t translate well, and Team Wallace has a lot of wasted time throwing the towels around instead of actually. You know. Dancing. Lingo gets a credible solo during Team Zhang’s performance, and even though Xiao Bao is clearly lost during a good bit of his backup dancer duties, he manages not to throw up, which – given this team’s general skill level – should be enough to give them the first round, EXCEPT SOMEHOW Team Wallace gets the point from the judges, who then try to justify this inexplicable decision by saying Team Wallace had better interaction, I guess because of the hot mess with throwing the towels around, but adding that Team Zhang was more scattered, which what? More scattered than the hot mess with the towels? I’m not buying this. I can’t tell if they’re propping up Wallace or fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, but I’m having bad acid flashbacks to the many and varied ways dance show judges will try to gaslight you, telling you that things you just saw with your very own eyes did not actually happen when it’s right there! On camera! Visible, despite whatever edit bs you’re pulling! ANYWAY, they’re definitely managing to fuck with not only Lay Zhang’s head, but Xiao Bao’s, and Xiao Bao still doesn’t seem to have his choreography down, but they manage to pull it together enough to take the second round, which to be honest is kind of a muddled mess on everyone’s part. The only one who really stands out to me on this go’round is Su Lian Ya, but OK, Team Zhang might have had it slightly more together as a unit. And then, yeah, OK, I think they were fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, because we then find out that, holy shit, the song the show powers-that-be chose for the tie-breaking third round is that gd Sailor Moon song, and we can all see the writing on the wall. Poor Team Wallace is no match for Xiao Bao, who frankly, carries this entire round on his shoulders without breaking a sweat and barely needs any backup dancers to do it. There’s some ridiculously dramatic reveal of scoring, with the judges dragging out their decisions like this was any actual contest - I’m beginning to suspect that some of them grew up with Wallace Chung posters on their bedroom walls - but finally, round and towel to Team Zhang.

Cut to a little bit of Next Time On, and wow, the first two-and-a-half-hour episode is over, and we aren’t finished with the initial round yet. It’s gonna be Christmas before I make it halfway through this season.

[an-emo-on-emo-site]

time for a dumb critique of stranger things written by a dumb emo 13 year old

aight so since im a massive film/tv nerd lets talk about stranger things 

YOUNG BOY STRANGER THINGS

so basically the first season is nearly perfect imo. the cinematography is phenomenal and every. single. shot. serves the mood of the scene really well. the show has excellent writing that makes teens feel like actual people which a lot of other teen shows fail at, and it can be really funny without actually sacrificing the mood of the show as a whole or detracting from the severity of the situation. it can also be genuinely scary (the first watch through) without relying too much on gore to induce a cheaper “shock scare”. It maintains tension expertly throughout the whole show until the resolution and the ending cliffhanger is a perfect end. There really isnt much more i can say, the entire season is just chef’s kiss

DEMOGORGON 2: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

while season 2 is still decent and succeeds in some of the aforementioned manners (cinematography and humour), there are quite a few g l a r i n g flaws in the show which kinda take it down quite a few pegs for me. Season one was almost a mystery show disguised as horror, and therefore was a lot more engaging because you wanted to solve the mystery just as much as the characters did. While you were still invested in the show and liked the characters, most of the enjoyment (for me at least) came from trying to figure out what happened to will. While Season 2 does have some of this carry over with the Mind Flayer infection, the mystery never really progresses, they just figure something out in the last hour of the show. Season 2 relies a lot more on the characters to carry the show and keep the audience engaged. While this does work a lot of the time, especially with the dynamics between Dustin and Steve (we stan), a lot of the enjoyment from the show was taken away (for me) when the mystery aspect was toned down. Additionally, there wasn't really any particularly scary threat for the majority of the season. In Season 1 we are aware of the existence of the Demogorgon throughout the show and we are consistently shown that it is a severe threat to the protagonists, but in Season 2 we only really have a threat at the very end (last two episodes), and even those are literally just tiny demogorgons. While they obviously can still be harmful, they’re much tamer considering how hyped up big boy demogorgon was in the first season. 

While the characters are a big reason why stranger things is such a well loved show, Season 2 kinda screwed a lot of them up. Joyce is still the distressed mother (while she has reason to be, she literally doesn't change at a l l after the first season), Mike is kinda just an edgier version of who he was last season, Will doesn't have any character at all (the mind flayer does take him over but thats a slow process in the beginning, he should be more prominent but he isn't and we therefore never get to connect with him like we did with the other characters in the first season), and Eleven...

well Eleven is a child. she has every reason to be disappointed or angry that she cant see mike but she behaves like a toddler. she   - throws tantrums  - breaks windows when she doesn't get what she wants

and yells “i hate you!” at her parental guardian who is just trying to keep her safe from murderous government officials. While her motivations are there and are valid, her behavior is extremely immature, and she definitely devolves after the first season.

whoo that was long. i still like the season but the characters don't really evolve or develop at all after the first season which kinda sucks considering the first season was so good and characters did develop during it, but for some reason they just abruptly stopped. Fortunately, the writing is still decent and the cinematography is still great so its still an enjoyable watch.

SEASON 3: COMMUNISM IS THE REAL ENEMY

okay.

this is probably the worst season of the show (worst for stranger things is still pretty good though), but i still enjoyed watching it more than i enjoyed watching any other part of the show because i was laughing the entire time.

The writing in this season is either amazing or terrible. There are some parts to this show where they’re trying to write a joke but it fails so hard i start laughing. The best example I can think of this is the scene where Billy is trying to convince Mrs. Wheeler to get private lessons from him. He launches into a monologue of how he could “teach her” and starts listing strokes like the sensual man he is 

“freestyle..

breaststroke” *proceeds to eye mrs. wheeler from head to toe*

and the joke made me cringe so hard i fell out of my chair laughing. This is just the example i thought of off the top of my head, but so many scenes have similar writing that makes me cringe hard.

BUT

the actor’s performances in this season are phenomenal. Every actor sells their lines so hard that I enjoy every. single. second of the show even when the writing is dumb. the only times when the writing is actually bothersome is in the serious scenes (like the infamous “new coke” scene which made me shake my head so fast my glasses flew off my head). Apart from those few instances, however, almost every second of the show is enjoyable. This season also fixes the problem with the second season and actually ups the ante this time with the mind flayer which is absolutely, positively, terrifying. The damn thing is literally made out of the melted corpses of the people it infected. This brings another problem into the show, however, which is

too

much

gore.

I should probably start out by saying that in general i don't really like over the top gore in media. A few months ago i tried to watch Kill Bill and got freaked out by the first scene. Regardless of my wimpiness, however, I think that the show begins to rely too much on gore to be scary. Some scenes have people feeling around in a cut open leg, some scenes have people literally melting into chunks of blood and flesh, some have scenes of a guy getting his head shoved into a fan and having his face ripped open. The show tries to put all this off as “horror” but in reality its just something that grosses me out a bit but then i move on. Some scenes have actual scary moments, (especially with the mind flayer in billy’s form), but a lot of the horror in the third season relies on either gore or jumpscares which are still really enjoyable to watch but aren't really scary as they’re intended to be.

I still loved watching season three, but i feel like it shouldn't be gone into as a horror show as the first two could have been. The first few episodes are like a corny teen dramedy with some scary elements, and the last few are literally just slasher 80s camp the whole way through and i'm living for it

anyway this was long winded and dumb. stranger things is a great show watch it just don't expect anything to top the first season

hell yeah abuse tumblr algorithm with hashtags

[hyphypmic]

HypMic: Girl Group S/O

Anon asked: Heey, how would they react if they had a s/o who's an idol, like in a girl group, she sings and dance, but at the same time she can rap like a God?. Sorry my English is awful T_T Anyway have a awesome week <3

Thank you for the request honey!

Ichiro

Honestly he would be so blown away

And he would obsess pretty hard

Along with promotion on his fucking social media

And like he would hang around with the group and enjoy rapping with them

And they would have collaborations and they would blow up the internet because it’s so good

And their rap battles are things of legend

And like, okay, ichiro would have the best fun, not only giving tips, but getting some as well

Jiro

Oh my god, he would be so gobsmacked and he would truly be obsessed with you

And like, he would also take videos of you and all that

And when he goes to your practices and all, he really enjoys it

And he would also do collaborations with you, and he would IG story it

Also the two of you would do dance covers that would have a ton of views on youtube

They would be the dynamic duo on stage and when they perform together it’s such a wonderful dance combination

Saburo

He would personally take it upon himself to up your promotions

And he would be the one to post and suddenly he would be on your instagram takeovers

He would also have that collaborations with you and post them also

He would also have the best pictures of you during concerts

And he would take tips from you when it comes to rapping bc knowledge is everything

Amazing edits and all that, just genuinely being a big sweetheart

Samatoki

He would find it cool

He would ask the rest of MTC to stream your songs and buy your albums

And he’s not really a posting guy, but he would practice with you

One time he gave you a hypnosis microphone and he got he fell backwards, and it takes a lot for him to get a headache, much less fall back and be left reeling at it

And so he trains with you and honestly, its mind blowing because you’re both so good and all

Will kill all your haters if you allowed him to

And if he hears someone hate on you, he growls and gets severely mad at them

Jyuto

Oh he would subtly increase your security team

But he would also enjoy watching you and would buy your merch and all that

Is the type to wear your shirts, but like in a subtle way

And he enjoys listening to your music and sometimes during the music breaks, he freestyle raps and you video him doing it

The views skyrocket when that happens

And like, he has the best time when he watches you, but he would corner you after the concert and congratulate you privately

Riou

He is amused and like really enjoys the music

While he’s camping, he plays the music and he sings along with it

And when you dance, he really tries to copy you, and it works in a sense, but he prefers watching instead

And then he also raps with you and practices with your group mates

And when he gets invited on stage, everyone is so in love

And if they have like a military themed song, they go for it and have Riou

Ramuda

Full on promotion and he really advertises you

He wears the not-so subtle march and is a really big supporter

He also loves your music and begs to gust star in the music videos

And when he does, and when he raps, its the biggest, wildest collaboration ever

And its cutesy and all that, but on a darker MV, he goes for it also

And in general he has so much fun, especially when he does his IG takeovers

He does rap videos with you and it’s wild because they’re either cute or way too fucking intense

He also designs new outfits because he’s extra like that

Gentaro

He helps write songs because why not

He’s more of a lyricist than anything, and then he shows them to you for approval for his own

And you ask advice from him for your group’s lyrics

And he saves your music and listens to it so much

And he ends up memorising all of them and sometimes quoting them

Your rap collaborations are wonderful and the lyrics bring people to tears

Dice

He also enjoys your music and dances to it

He has a little MP3 player and he saves all of your songs

He unabashedly plays them even in public and sings them as he is walking

And he wears your merch a lot and just in general has so much fun

He also watches you and is basically your loudest number one fan, rival to the regular fans and he always does his best to watch, even if he can’t exactly get tickets

He drags FP with him anyway

Jakurai

Finds you amazing and regularly listens to your songs

Has it playing in his office when patients come in and he’s so happy to explain that its the group of his girlfriend

And like, he also lets you rap in front of him and gives you tips on rapping

And his praise is the most genuine thing, like he doesn’t also lie when he’s critiquing you

He also watches every show, or if he can’t make it, he picks you up

And if you’re away, he never fails to call and watch fancams on youtube

Posts on his IG or something on how proud he is

Doppo

If he feels lonely, he plays your songs

And plus it calms him, regardless of how fast paced it is

And like when you rap with him, he’s so amazed because it’s beautiful and chaotic

And you end up videoing your raps together, even if he’s kind of shy about it

He’s usually a busy guy. But he watches your videos while in the office and promotes you there

He hums the songs when he’s doing paperwork because it makes time go faster and happier

Hifumi

he loves social media and promotes you a lot

He usually can’t go to concerts because of his job, at its at night, but when he can he’s so loud and is wearing all of your merchandise

And like, he would have social media takeovers

And when he hangs around with your group and to celebrate it’s at his club because well… you’re the only girl he’s not afraid of, the other members still scare him quite a bit

but yeah he’s a huge puppy and he’s gushing over you almost all the time because you’re so damn good

[rmfantasysetpieces1]

I posted 161 times in 2021

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I added 322 tags in 2021

#rmsoccer - 147 posts

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#uefa national league

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

@Simone_Biles or @naomiosaka  are in my view, legends in their sports. The true problem in modern day sport is the myth that any athlete in any sport must not aspire to win but win continuously. Once an athlete reaches the mountaintop, they are not obliged to stay there. 

34 notes • Posted 2021-07-27 19:56:32 GMT

#4

After Rebeca Andrade’s silver gymnastics Olympic medal, Brazilians also celebrate Daiane dos Santos, the first black woman champion gymnast https://blackbraziltoday.com/after-rebeca-andrades-silver-gymnastics-olympic-medal-brazilians-also-celebrate-daiane-dos-santos-the-first-black-woman-champion-gymnast/

40 notes • Posted 2021-07-30 23:24:03 GMT

#3

The proof that Naomi Osaka makes an excellent point is in the fact that few are focusing on the point in Osaka's blackout from media or her exodus from the french open. The point is a question, what is the role of media in sport? Is it necessary for a post match interview with an athlete/coach/trainer in any sport? Why do athletes/coaches/trainers have to answer questions to what anyone with eyes can see? Naomi Osaka said she is fatigued of dealing with media questions? why does she have to? From what I have read the reasons athletes have to answer post match questions is about media companies, not sport. The sponsors or advertisers or media outlets put in the contract of sports leagues that athletes must give them a post match. So this is a request that has no athletic value. The role of the post match or pre match interview has no athletic value, it is merely to create content for media companies to present to the internet and make grand discussions over.. when all one need to do is look at sport and the answers are there. When a tennis player/basketball team/automotive racer/futebol team/aerobic athlete/track and field athlete/ or ANY ATHLETE OR ATHLETIC TEAM plus staff losses or wins, the reasons why are evident and on record. Why is the post match needed? What athletic function does it serve? Do sports leagues have to cater to media? Media concerns pay athletic leagues for the athletic content, why do athletic leagues have to give media concerns internet triviality content? I say, end the pre/post match interview in all sports. It serve no athletic function.

Articles discussing or informing to the issue NAomi Osaka statement < https://twitter.com/naomiosaka/status/1399422304854188037 >

70 notes • Posted 2021-06-01 02:23:07 GMT

#2

Tamyra Mensah-Stock wins gold in wrestling, freestyle 68kg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEhEIy_YHx8

118 notes • Posted 2021-08-04 02:33:00 GMT

#1

Johan Derksen, sports journalist from the Netherlands said: ”Brazil’s goalkeeper looks like a pig wearing a shirt. She’s overweight.”

I heard many a male player be critiqued for their weight issues, ala Eden Hazard or Willian. But, no pundit ever said to hazard or willian, they look like a pig wearing a shirt. The problem with women's sports is men's media. The global media system, all local media's , are owned/administered by men. Sequentially, mens media tends to refrain from harsh fashion statements to men, while are vicious to female athletes. How many mens media outlets when the william sisters first came about questioned their gender? How many said they were females while questioned their beauty? How many mens media outlets in modernity speak false to the gender or physical attractiveness of the williams sisters? The answer to all three questions is many. I remember when female golfers started training at higher levels and started gaining bodybuilder bodies. I remember when female soccer players faces beauty was referred to by commentators. Many people can deny it, but saying a women looks like a pig wearing a shirt is one many men, including me, heard uttered many times by my fellow men toward a woman's general appearance. No, I am not a saint/man who never insulted a woman but I simply never used that slur. But the point is, the slur is not about sport, it is about her identity as a woman. And that added aspect is what separate how Mens Media covers mens sport as opposed to womens sport. Mens MEdia focuses on the athletic in mens sport while adds on a fashion model/playboy magazine judgement scale to women that is unequal.

329 notes • Posted 2021-07-27 20:48:05 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[helloworlddemo1122-yahoopar-blog]

'DWTS' Strategy: The Pros Reveal What It Takes to Impress the Judges Ahead of a Double Elimination Night

The competition on Dancing With the Stars is heating up!

The contestants on the current 24th season of the popular dance competition show are stronger than ever this year, and although there were a few frontrunners right out of the gate, there have been a few stars who've surprised us week after week and have drastically climbed the leaderboard. As the remaining seven couples gear up for their seventh week in the ballroom next Monday, ET's breaking down exactly what it takes to impress each individual judge, in hopes of getting one step closer to taking home the coveted mirror ball trophy.

WATCH: Normani Kordei & Val Chmerkovskiy on Shocking 'DWTS' Elimination & Missing the Perfect Score Again

Strategy #1: Know what the judges want.

Dance pro Sharna Burgess, who is paired with professional bull rider Bonner Bolton this season, recently stopped by ET's Los Angeles studio for a Facebook Live interview, where she revealed the judges are all "looking for different things."

"Len [Goodman] is always looking for that technique," she explained. "Bruno [Tonioli] is looking for the personality. Carrie Ann [Inaba] is looking for those lifts."

Troupe dancer Alan Bersten (Heather Morris' temporary pro fill-in for Maksim Chmerkovskiy this season) echoed Burgess' statements during his exclusive sit-down interview with ET, saying, "Just Carrie Ann specifically, no lifts in ballroom dancing. That is the No. 1 concern… no lifts."

And Tonioli had no problem admitting what he does and does not like in the ballroom when we caught up with him backstage at the show. "The thing I really can't stand, people that don't put their passion and emotion [into it]," he revealed. "Go wrong, but do it with passion."

Strategy #2: When choreographing each routine, focus on your partner's strengths.

Choreographing is no easy task when it comes to creating a dance for non-trained dancers. Let's not forget that the dancers choreographing these routines are ballroom professionals -- they've spent years training with different partners, not to mention most of them have mastered a slew of other different genres, like ballet, hip-hop and contemporary. That being said, it can be quite difficult to just focus on the basics and not wow the crowd with all the tricks they've previously grasped and performed with fellow professional partners.

While it's good for the pros to challenge the celebrities to step outside of their comfort zones, it's important to take note of what they can and cannot do. Burgess, for example, has been really great about that this season. Bolton suffered a near-fatal accident last year when he was bucked off the back off a bull, resulting in a number of injuries and surgeries. He still has a lot of pain, and is unable to execute the flips and tricks competitors like Simone Biles and Normani Kordei have perfected.

"You have a routine, you have an idea of what you want when you walk in the room, but you can't get married to the steps," the red-headed beauty explained. "Because if that doesn't look good on them, you have to find another option."

Strategy #3: Work on your chemistry.

Connecting with your partner is key! If you're not getting along in rehearsals, or there's any type of tension, it will show on the dance floor. That's why it's important for the pros to always make sure their partners are happy, and have a clear understanding of the routine's vision. Is this supposed to be sexy, or is it emotional, or maybe a mix of both?

"Julianne [Hough] I feel is more, as well as Carrie Ann… they like the emotion," Bersten said. "I feel Julianne really likes the connection between the couple."

A perfect example of this is the contemporary number that Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater performed to a cover of Katy Perry's "Unconditionally" during week 4. The NFL pro dedicated the dance to his father, Albert, who lost both of his legs due to diabetic complications. It told a story, and everyone in the audience felt the emotion, thanks to #TeamShadSquad's strong partnership and undeniable connection.

Hough gave the pair a 10, saying, "I can't even talk right now. Do you feel that? What you just did, I have no words for."

Strategy #4: Know when to incorporate lifts, and when to avoid them.

When your competitors are jam-packing their dances with surprises, it's easy to want to take your choreography to the next level by adding advanced moves. But you have to be sure the star is mentally ready to take that next step.

For example, during this week's show, David Ross and Lindsay Arnold received the second lowest score of the night (29/40) from the judges. The reason? Despite the strength of their actual tango steps, the horizontal lift they attempted was extremely shaky.

In the interview package, viewers saw that the former MLB pro was having a difficult week, caused mostly by heightened stress from traveling and, of course, the pressures of long rehearsals, which every pair faces at least once in the competition. But, had Arnold waited a week or two to showcase this lift, they most likely would have been able to perform it with no problem.

"I think the week just caught up with me," Ross told ET backstage following their performance. "I had no energy last week, no entry."

"It gets tough. Any person that's on this show will tell you there's, like, a middle of the compensation hump that you have to hop over," added Arnold. "It's hard, especially [when you're] traveling."

Strategy #5: Don't get bummed if you receive a low score from the judges. Accept their critiques and encourage viewers to vote!

Ever wonder why you don't really hear the majority of the dance pros interact with the judges after listening to their feedback? It's all part of strategy!

"I try not to interact with the judges because it never goes down well! You accept it, listen, and at the end of the day, they're hired for their critiques and they're watching the dance and they're all going to say something different," Burgess shared. "You have to accept that they all have their opinions of your dance and just nod, smile, take it on the chin and try to work and be better, so they don't say it again. That is my view of the judges -- just be gracious and take it."

And if the judges don't love your routine, it's absolutely necessary to emphasize the importance of voting to your fans on social media.

"[Fan voters] have a huge amount of power in the end," Tonioli said. "Especially with the finale, when our score doesn't count."

"The final freestyle dances usually get the public," he added. "They just get on their phones and that's what gets you the mirror ball."

WATCH: 'Dancing With the Stars' Week 6 Dance Recap: Best Lifts, Kicks, Tricks and Flips!

Week 7 of Dancing With the Stars takes place next Monday, with a new "A Night at the Movies" challenge, which features a double elimination and dance-offs.

As we patiently wait to see who wows and who falls short, press play on the video below to see highlights from Heather Morris and Maksim Chmerkovskiy's shocking exit.

[airadam]

Episode 124 : Trophies

"I will not lose."

- Jay-Z

Back on the road after an unscheduled absence, and now with a fully operational battle station (see my IG stories for more). This month's selection starts with a few tracks to test your audio installation, remembers 2Pac twenty-three years after he passed, and is pretty much guaranteed to hit you with at least one track you didn't already know! Let's begin...

Twitter : @airadam13

Playlist/Notes

Federation ft. Daz Dillinger : We Ride

I've been banging this one hard for months, and it seemed like an appropriate one to start the episode with! That little pre-chorus amuses and entertains in equal measure, and gives a breather each time before Rick Rock's stomping beat comes crashing back in. This is a great tune from Federation's 2004 eponymous first album, and they rep Fairfield hard on the mic while also bringing in Daz from Tha Dogg Pound for a cosign from a veteran. One to crank your car system to, for sure!

DJ Quik : Ladies & Thugs (Instrumental)

This is far from my favourite track on the excellent "Trauma" album, but the beat fit really well here - and DJ Quik was generous enough to release an instrumental version of this album for us to hear his wicked beats taking centre stage.

Jay-Z ft. Beanie Sigel, Memphis Bleek, and Static Major : Change The Game

Keeping it west coast on the production, Rick Rock is on the boards once again with what was arguably his national break-out tune. Jay-Z scooped up some of that Bay Area mob music vibe on this one, and featured two of the foremost MCs of the Roc-A-Fella roster of the time. The hook was provided by the sadly departed Static Major, and it fits perfectly. This was a big single from "The Dynasty : Roc La Familia", but didn't make anywhere near as much noise on the charts as the track that followed it on the LP - "I Just Wanna Love U". 

80s Babies ft. Chaka B : Technology

This crew is made up of Tall Black Guy on the beats and Dee Jackson AKA Shogun on the mic, and their "Sonic Music" album is somehow almost ten years old already. "Technology" and the track that follow just happen to fit together nicely, with no deliberate plan to have a tech critique theme in this section! The lyrics lament the state of the modern world when it comes to our reliance on technological solutions, with some maybe being more useful than others. TBG is dope on the beat as always, and if you pay attention you may hear a little callback to a track from his hometown of Detroit...

OutKast ft. George Clinton : Synthesizer

George Clinton was a big feature to get when this came out on "Aquemini", and I'm sure he was drawn to OutKast's outer space vibes. This was released in 1998, pre-social media and in what was almost another technological age - despite this, the themes discussed have held up surprisingly well for a track over twenty years old. As much as anything, maybe OutKast were just rapping ahead of their time!

2Pac ft. Dogg Pound, Method Man, and Redman : Got My Mind Made Up

This is one of my favourites from the over-long "All Eyez On Me" album, but the background to this one is weird. There's about half a bar of background vocal from Inspektah Deck right at the end - he actually recorded a whole verse (as did Lady of Rage) which was omitted from the final version after a mix-up when tapes were being transferred. Daz Dillinger did the production as well as rhyming on the track with his Dogg Pound compatriot Kurupt, but Dr Dre allegedly claimed it at one point. Meth and Red somehow didn't get any publishing or plaques from this track, despite being major artists at the time who contributed typically dope verses. Industry rule #4080...

[K-Murdock] & Mega Ran : Player Two (Instrumental)

The vocal version of this from "Forever Famicom" is well worth hearing, but for now you get to hear just K-Murdock's quality beat. It works in groups of three bars, so catches you a little off-balance at first! 

Blu & Oh No ft. Definite, Ca$hus King, and M.E.D : Boogie To Flex

From "A Long Red Hot Los Angeles Summer Night", we have tales of when the party goes all the way wrong and the gangsta business sets off! Oh No's beat is somehow bright and dark at once, bringing the tension, and every single guest MC brings it to the point that Blu only needs to come in with the perfectly-done hook.  

Royce Da 5'9" ft. Tre Little, Cha Cha, Cut Throat, Jah 5'9", and Billie Nix : D-Elite, Pt. II

Both parts of this mini-series to the B-side of the pretty so-so "You Can't Touch Me" once again proves Chuck D right! I actually prefer the first one overall, but it's very short and tonally wouldn't fit here. Part II is no slouch, with Alchemist on production and a host of guest MCs - the D-Elite of the title, who Royce cedes the floor to.

Reks : Forrest Gump

I'm wondering if the 2013 "Revolution Cocktail" album has been deleted - I can't find it on Amazon, Spotify, or even Bandcamp! Listen to it if you get chance because there is some serious heat on there from the Lawrence, MA veteran.

Curren$y : Billy Ocean

When the going gets tough, the tough get blunted. New Orleans' own Curren$y is on some paid rapper lifestyle business on this selection from "The Spring Collection" mixtape. Cardo and Sledgren provide the midtempo but chilled beat.

Luxury Elite : Upscale

A little vaporwave instrumental break courtesy of West Virginia's Luxury Elite, from her "World Class" album. So eighties, so good.

Tobe Nwigwe : Mo City Don Freestyle

I'm going to keep telling you how ill this Houston MC is until you believe me for real! Pure bars on this track that pays homage to the legendary Z-Ro's "Mo City Don" freestyle from his "Let The Truth Be Told" LP - which itself pays respect to the great Eric B & Rakim's "Paid In Full". Don't ever believe that real Hip-Hop isn't still alive and well in our era.

Zion I ft. Pep Love : Warrior's Dance

Back to the "Deep Water Slang v2.0" LP for a track that's motivational and bouncing at the same time - nothing less than you'd expect of this crew from Oakland, home of the Black Panthers! Fellow Oakland MC Pep Love of the Hieroglyphics family guests on here, taking half of each verse as well as the very last rhymes of the final verse. This is a salute to freedom fighters over a solid Amp Live beat.

Large Professor : Live In Stereo

This is very distinctly new-era (well, 2002) Large Pro, with the more electronic sound he started developing after the SP-1200 days that first made his name. The "1st Class" LP is Large Pro's second album, but the first to actually be released after "The LP" was shelved by Geffen and subsequently heavily bootlegged - finally surfacing in 2009.

Wretch 32 and Avelino ft. Bobii Lewis and Super N£ro : Nothing Will

This is such heat, and may well have slipped past the radar of many. Wretch 32 and Avelino are MCs who represent Tottenham heavy - at the time of this recording, Wretch being a relative veteran and Avelino the up-and-comer. A standout on the 2015 "Young Fire, Old Flame" mixtape, this tune has all MCs dropping deep quotables all over the DJ Smasherelly track, and Bobii Lewis with a great performance on the hook too. 

Pete Rock : Heaven & Earth

A gentle head-nodder from a man who has been bringing us classic production for almost thirty years now! If you like this, be sure to get the "Petestrumentals 2" album.

Nas : We Will Survive

After watching the episodes of the latest "Hip-Hop Evolution" series on the tragic beef between Death Row and Bad Boy, this track stood out for me while listening to Nas' third album "I Am". It's definitely one of the best on the LP in my opinion, with Nas speaking on his relationships with the late 2Pac and Biggie Smalls. The beat is a reflective number by Trackmasters and Jamal Edgerton, working a (cleared!) Kenny Loggins sample. This was a fitting song to end the episode with. 

Please remember to support the artists you like! The purpose of putting the podcast out and providing the full tracklist is to try and give some light, so do use the songs on each episode as a starting point to search out more material. If you have Spotify in your country it's a great way to explore, but otherwise there's always Youtube and the like. Seeing your favourite artists live is the best way to put money in their pockets, and buy the vinyl/CDs/downloads of the stuff you like the most!

  Check out this episode!

[dawnajaynes32]

Mike Wasilewski on Purpose, Clarity, and Making Cool Things

Mike Wasilewski, Co-Founder and COO of Frank Collective, is in the business of branding and making cool things. His thoughts on design trends, inspirations, and projects are covered here.

Name: Mike Wasilewski, Co-Founder & CCO of Frank Collective Location: Brooklyn, NY Design school attended: The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY

How would you describe your work? Can you talk through the design philosophy of Frank Collective?

It’s branding. Everything I do is some sort of brand building—whether that’s evolving, creating, or maintaining a brand through strategy, identity, web, packaging, marketing, etc. I aim for my work, and the work my team makes at Frank, to be clear, emotive, smart, and honest. Clear work is immediate. It isn’t nuanced, abstract, or understated with messaging—it communicates clearly in a way that isn’t hard to get. Clarity is so important, especially today when you have to fight for people’s attention. They aren’t waiting around for your work, nor are they endlessly nit-picking it in meetings like we do all day. When you get their attention, you only have a split-second to grab hold of it — it’s best to be clear when you do.

Honest work resonates with your target audience. They see something in it and recognize that you see them. Branding is empathy when done right. It goes beyond trends, demographics, and yourself to a big simple core truth. So don’t impose your own designer/creative/marketer viewpoint, know how to get out of your own way and get in to your audience’s mindset.

Emotive work evokes a response from your audience that no logo-generator-thing-a-bobber can create. When you elicit an emotion from someone, good or bad, you’re creating something meaningful.

Smart work is interesting. It makes you think a little and give that head nod of appreciation. That “you’re in on the joke” or the “ah that’s so cool they did that” type of acknowledgement that makes your work memorable.

If all of the above is in place, everything else should follow easily.

Where do you find inspiration?

I don’t have a single source of inspiration. This might sound cliche, but just getting out there and living life is the best kind of inspiration. Doing that allows you to build a catalogue of experiences that you can draw upon when thinking about work. And depending on what you’re working on you can find it from almost any source. That and Pinterest.

With that said, my first inspiration was my teenage obsession with freestyle BMX bikes, and I wanted to find a way to work within the industry. I thought if I was a designer I could get a job working at a bike magazine because I would be better at setting type than riding a halfpipe. While I do enjoy the work I do today, I’m still holding out for that bike magazine.

Who are some of your favorite designers or artists?

Wow. I have so many that I straight up idolize and reference constantly to my staff and students. Currently, Scott Dadich is one of my favorite designers/creative directors in recent years. I remember being so amazed by the pages of Wired when he was at the helm. I would pour over every page of it — oftentimes just gawking at the page for 1 minute saying “Damn thats amazing” then another minute going “man, I wish I did this” then another minute of “gah this is so smart! This is the stuff I want to make!” … and then I would read the article.

I also really love Aaron Draplin’s simple and entertaining explanation of his work and the total apparent joy he gets from it. He knows what he likes and does it his way unapologetically — and for good reason — he’s so talented! Read his book and its apparent that that man lives his truth.

I always liked Tibor Kalman’s wit and conceptual approach to everything. Michael Bierut’s clear and simple rationale and scalability to all his design systems. Caleb Owen Everitt’s distinct and dusty all-American style. Malika Favre’s illustrations are beyond smart and masterful – I can look at them all day long.  

Do you have a favorite among all the projects you’ve worked on?

I don’t actually. And that’s because I don’t have a single favorite project. I like many projects for many reasons.

I really love when we work with entrepreneurs who are passionate about what they’re doing, and we can bring it to life for them. These are people who are betting the farm on an idea they have and have a lot of pressure to deliver on that idea from investors, family, friends, and themselves. Giving shape and form to a brand for them is very fulfilling for myself and my team. We really get invested in their vision.

I also always dig a project if I’m working on it with great people that I want to be around. It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be a crazy last minute deadline, a simple revision to a brand guideline, or a pro-bono project for a friend. As long as I’m working with people that I enjoy being around it’s all good in my book.

Is there a project that stands out to you as having been the biggest challenge of your career so far?

This isn’t necessarily something that is remotely a challenge today, but back when I was getting started, it was a really tough thing for me to learn — and is something that I hope I never lose sight of. And that is: anything and everything can be awesome.

I was in my first year at Radical Media and it was time to review with our creative director. When I start showing him the comps of the same logo over and over again at various sizes on all these t-shirt mockups, he just says “Would you wear this t-shirt? Do you think its cool?” 22-year-old me just says, “it’s what we designed though.” He asked me again “yeah but is this the coolest t-shirt ever? Would you wear this out tonight with your friends? If you don’t think it’s cool then how will I? And then how will our client?”

This was the first time that I realized that everything and anything can and should be awesome. And branding is a way of surfacing that innate awesomeness. It’s a challenge to do this but you can make anything interesting if you try. A few years ago you wouldn’t care much about a meal prep service, but you care about Blue Apron today. Socks, have you ever heard a more boring word such as socks? But what about Bombas? They’re awesome! Why? Because they aren’t just socks – they’re Bombas, a better sock both functionally and ethically.

I understood what had to be done in that moment and went into a t-shirt designing fever dream. And made the coolest t-shirts I could with the elements I had to work with.

What’s your best advice for designers today? Should designers follow “best practices”?

Don’t follow trends blindly. Acknowledge them, critique them, understand what works and why—then take that into account as you make something that works for your task at hand. Just because it worked well for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you.

You’re a consumer too. Step back often and ask yourself “If I never saw this — does it make sense?” So many times I’ve done this with my own work and its been for the better.

If you’re in a meeting debating the color with someone, you’re having the wrong conversation. What I mean by that is everything you do should have purpose and intention. You are a designer, so nothing should be a flippant design decision. You chose that typeface for some rational reason. You made the very specific color palette because it evoked an energy. The tone of voice you selected is relatable. As the designer you know why you made these decisions, but it’s often hard to put them into words or we forget that not everyone is a designer.

Find more Frank Collective here and more Mike here.

Interview by Daniel Schloss

The post Mike Wasilewski on Purpose, Clarity, and Making Cool Things appeared first on HOW Design.

Mike Wasilewski on Purpose, Clarity, and Making Cool Things syndicated post

[everythingentertainment]

Music Review: Revival

Photo Credit: Amazon

When Eminem made an unexpected appearance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards last October, he made the headlines he was once known for with his freestyle rap, “The Storm.” The pre-taped video was simplistic, featuring the rapper in a parking garage. However, Eminem had a lot to say, critiquing President Donald Trump on his policies and being a master of distraction, such as steering the media’s conversations from Hurricane Maria and gun reform to the NFL controversy where players refused to stand for the National Anthem. At the end of the four minute song, the rapper demands the fans that voted for Trump to choose a side.

The acapella rap was a whirlwind of frustration, fury, and passion; a fire that hasn’t been seen in Eminem in recent years. I thought more of that creative spark would show up in his latest album, “Revival,” but only a few of the 19 tracks offer a glimpse at how great Eminem was at the peak of his career.

The rapper even brings up the pressures of living up to his late 90s-early 2000s success in the album opener and first single, “Walk On Water.”

“It’s the curse of the standard, that the first of the Mathers disc set,” he raps. “Always in search of the verse that I haven’t spent yet. Will this step be just another misstep?” He also talks about his disdain of being labeled a God, saying, “It’s a facade, and it’s exhaustive.” Even with Beyonce singing the chorus, she cannot save this dull piano ballad. Though, it is interesting to hear how Eminem hopes to live up to his legacy. It is a subject that has been brought up time and time again since his first comeback with 2009’s “Relapse.”

The rapper revisits many subjects from past albums on Revival, such as his tumultuous relationship with ex-wife, Kim Scott. This is apparent in the second single, “River.” Featuring vocals from Ed Sheeran, he sings about being “a liar and a cheat” with Eminem talking about his Internet chats and one night stands while being in a relationship.

Like “Walk on Water,” “River” isn’t an outstanding song that should be added to Eminem’s catalog of great singles. Production-wise, the song is bland as well with an acoustic sound that Sheeran is known for. Without Eminem's verses, this could have easily been a solo single for the singer-songwriter.

Scott is also on the topic of forgettable ballads such as the X Ambassadors-assisted “Bad Husband” and “Need Me,” which features pop singer Pink. Both are about the dynamics of a dysfunctional relationship. The couple is crazy in love, but they know they are not good for each other. With both songs produced by frequent Eminem collaborator, Alex da Kid, it seems like the rapper is trying to recreate the success he had with “Love the Way You Lie.”

The rapper shares his thoughts on fatherhood in two of the strongest songs on the album, “Castle” and “Arose.” In “Castle,” Eminem uses each verse to read from three letters he wrote to his daughter, Hailie.

The first one was written shortly before she was born in 1995, the second following a year after her birth, and the third on the eve of her twelfth birthday. The rapper talks about how his first album “Infinite” flopped, and his hopes to be successful in order to give Hailie a better life.

“Trying to build these castles out of sand, baby girl,” he says. “For you to sit on the throne, I got plans, baby girl.” The third verse grows dark, as Eminem was battling drugs at the time. He tells her to not look at the letter as a “goodbye note, ‘cause your dad’s at the end of his rope.”

Where “Castle” left off, Eminem continues the conversation in “Arose,” talking candidly about his 2007 overdose and apologizing to the people he let down such as his daughter and Scott. By the song’s end, the rapper reveals that his near death was a wake-up call for him, declaring, “I’m pledging to throw this methadone in the toilet.”

Following the popularity of “The Storm,” Eminem gets political with the songs “Like Home” and “Untouchable.” The former, another piano ballad featuring another female singer (this time Alicia Keys), the rapper again bashes Trump, comparing his looks to a canary and how all he does is watch Fox News and tweet all day. However, he is confident that the country can overcome this dark time and unite together.

While it is refreshing Eminem is optimistic about the current landscape of our country, his attempts to unite the country come off as cheesy and cliche-ridden. With lame lyrics such as “This type of pickle that we’re in is hard to deal,” and “Like a dictionary, things are looking up,” the track is the opposite of what it is trying to be--uninspired.

“Untouchable” explores racism in America with the first half of the song told from the perspective of a racist police officer as envisioned by Eminem. Over a loud guitar riff, the “officer” talks about intentionally going into black neighborhoods to harass people, not caring what the laws say about racial profiling. The second half sees the production move to a mid-tempo, hip-hop beat. Meanwhile, the rapper is now looking into the point of view of an African-American man, bringing up topics such Black Lives Matter, housing segregation, and poor education in black neighborhoods. While the idea to tell “Untouchable” from two different perspectives is interesting, Eminem does not have the right to discuss racism from a African-American man’s point of view. He could have featured a black rapper for that particular part, or talk about racism from his own perspective.

“Revival” further proves Eminem is unable to match the charisma and clever wordplay that he once showcased in “The Slim Shady LP,” “The Marshall Mathers LP,” and “The Eminem Show.” His recent releases have tried to recapture the rapper’s glory days, but most of the time, they just fall short. It seems like Eminem doesn't have much to say now that he is no longer an outsider in the rap game. Maybe next time he will find his creative spark again and plan a real revival.

Grade: D+

[bibanadesigns-blog]

Design Brief

The Typography 235 Collective is setting out to create a collaborative typeface family. Each of the nine designers will create 5 separate designs making up Letters, Number, and Symbols. All letterforms will be designed as capital letters and created using a design identity that will be unique from designer to designer. The goal is that at the end of this project, each of the designer's collections will be integrated into a digital collection or “book” as an alphabet. The collective is using a 5”x5” grid template with a cap height, baseline, and x-height, as a point of reference, for SCALE and proportion. Even though each designer will be creating their collection to their own artistic and typographic desires, the anatomy of the typographic structure will be maintained with integrity, this template will also help retain consistency in size and format for the letterform book we are creating.

For my project, I want to highlight on three-dimensional objects by incorporating wires and neon colors. The inspiration is from the found objects project from the beginning of the semester. One of my ideas was to manipulate computer chords and create the word wire. Here I wanted to highlight the word neon fo the letter N and make the rest of the letters/symbols cohesive. I imagine a neon wire being manipulated in a way that creates the shapes as well as being fluid in their own sense. Since wire can be very stagnant and light is the opposite I want to try and create this contrast in materials.

Vintage neon signs are usually found in dark spaces or bright cities. Using a black background will help brighten the colors and support the contrasting look I am aiming for. The wires will be formed around a styrofoam mold and a wooden stick. The photos will be taken with a flash against a black background. The flash will create the illuminating effect and highlight the nature of the wire material. Next, I will bring the photos into Photoshop and clean up lines, warp the shapes if needed, and smooth out the background.

Style Tile

Sketches

Finals

Design Rationale

The Typography 235 Collective is setting out to create a collaborative typeface family. Each of the nine designers will create 5 separate designs making up Letters, Number and Symbols. All letter forms will be designed as capital letters and created using a design identity that will be unique from designer to designer. The goal is that at the end of this project, each of the designer’s collections will be integrated into a digital collection or “book” as an alphabet. The collective is using a 5”x5” grid template with a cap height, baseline and x height, as a point of reference, for SCALE and proportion. Even though each designer will be creating their collection to their own artistic and typographic desires, the anatomy of typographic structure will be maintained with integrity, this template will also help retain consistency in size and format for the letter book we are creating.

My theme for my letters and symbols (N;0;!) were wire forms. I wanted to play around with the idea of a geometric sans-serif typeface while also being physically geometric. Geometric typefaces are generally easier to read and have a very modern look and feel. My N however, approaches a freestyle feel since the ascender is much longer than the hairline and gives the N an asymmetrical look. Although wire weaving can date back to ancient Egyptian times, wire sculptures are becoming more popular in the fine arts.

I came into the project knowing I wanted to do the #36daysoftype challenge over the summer. Therefore, I already had brainstorming ideas since I had already surrounded myself with unique typographic endeavors on social media such as Instagram. My eye had continuously gravitated towards three dimensional letters and next year I will be taking a metal sculpture class. With these two things in mind, using a wire form for my letters seemed perfect. Immediately, I went over to Joann’s to purchase Styrofoam, wooden dowels, and colorful soft round wire between 18 and 24 gauges. It also helped they had a 40% off your entire purchase coupon. The next step was the fun part. In order to create the letters, I had to manipulate the wire around the Styrofoam and wooden dowels. This was a long process since I incorporated wire weaving and wire twisting techniques to increase the visual aesthetic to the wire forms. Once the wire forms were completed I took photos of them with the flash setting to capture the texture of the wire. I brought the photos into photoshop and used the magic wand tool to negate the background of the photo and place the remaining image on a black background. The image layer then needed some touching up with increasing the brightness and contrast in order to capture the texture of the wire even more.

With only a week and a half to finish this project, class critiques were nonexistent. However, with previous critiques throughout the year I learned to appreciate the “less is more” approach. I have always struggled with this concept since I aim for elaborate images. However, with the input from three different professors and fellow classmates I decided to keep everything simple. The contrast between the bright textured letters/symbols against the flat black background gives enough appeal to make the image elaborate. The actual wire form and the organic shapes created with the weaving techniques also engages the viewer to follow each wire and how it intertwines with the other wire. Although this project seemed simple and was finished quickly, it still challenged my design abilities.

This semester I realized that graphic design and typography does not solely exist in the digital world. During the found objects project we had to manipulate physical items to create words. I realized I struggle with physical art and taking what I am thinking and turning it into a physical object. However, I can accomplish this task much easier over a computer. However, solely working on a computer is highly limiting and working with the wire created a project I could not have achieved without going out of my comfort zone.

[rainieee-blog]

New Media New Form - Final Critique

Summary: Turn daily scenes into your stages EverydayStage aims to prepare the mind of beginning level contemporary dancers. It is designed as a dance improvisation tool. In the improvising experience, dancers use their hands to swipe through computer generated dots on the screen in their own creative ways. A Microsoft Kinect motion camera detects dancers’ movements and updates the dots on the screen as dancers move in the space. Contemporary dance choreographers get their inspirations from every-day life, so we think all everyday environments can be stages for our participants. Therefore, clips from daily scenes are used as background videos to put dancers into daily lives. This design means not only to inspire dancers to create dancer movements, but also to encourage dancers interaction with their environments outside the installation.

Inspiration: When I was taking modern dance class, an important concept is to do improvise. Sometime the teacher gives you some hint, like there is some music. Sometimes the teacher provides you with nothing and just let you dance whatever you want. But most of time, the teacher will let you imagine something very abstract or say nothing. For a beginning dancer, for example my partner Yuntong, it’s a very hard process because she does not know her body very much and she does not know how to move. She does not have experience so she’s not that familiar with her body. in this project, i was trying to give the dancers some inspirations. the participants will first follow the dots on the screen but as the process continues, they would get a sense of feeling or some inspiration. once the participant kind of get activated by this project, she / he then would be able to improvise or freestyle based on their own feeling. Also at later moment, she/he can gradually get rid of this tool and would be able to dance freely. when i was in high school, i always had to attend some dance competitions. I was very stressed before stepping on stage. but i did at that time to release my nervousness was to dance on street. i remember i was about to see a teacher who would give me some instructions about my dance, i was very nervous before seeing her. i was afraid i would forget my movements. so before stepping into her studio, i danced on the street. i treated all the pedestrians as nothing and treated the street as a stage as if i was performing. this way i released all my nervousness and become more and more confident. everything i felt stressed, i just randomly pick a daily scenes and practice as if there is no one else present. this is why i add background video of daily scenes into my project because i also want the dancers to get rid of uncomfortableness and to be immersed into their dance, with some beginning inspiration of the little dots.

Research: processing.org My professor Zhenzhen Qi My partner Yuntong Man

Process:  It was the first time for both Yuntong and Rainie to learn how to use Processing. With this coding website, we first successfully made mouse interactive with a little dot on the screen. After that, Zhenzhen helped us to adjust those code so that it connected with Kinect. Kinect can recognize human body precisely.  The mouse then replaced by the hand of human. Once one hand touches the dot on screen, the dot would disappear and go to a random position. We then further develop the code in adding one more hand and dot. We also changed the background into the daily scenes and added music. During this process, we met a lot unexpected difficulties, but thanks Zhenzhen and Erin for always helping around.  Next Steps: 1. We want to remove the real-time background and only put the human body into our predetermined background video settings. 2. We plan to add more everyday scenes into the background settings. 3. We expect we could make music more interactive with people’s movements. As people move fast, music would be mored dramatic. As people move slowly, music would be smoother. 4. Right now, only two hands are being tracked as people move. We also want to test, if adding two more body parts, would the improvisation experience become better or more restrained?

Visual Documentation:

I have a short video

https://drive.google.com/a/tc.columbia.edu/file/d/127reUIvzbdssKA34k9U2ZxnaAn0la4K_/view?usp=sharing

In this video, me and my friend both tried using this tool first and then we did some improvise exercises continuing our feelings we got from the tool.  

https://drive.google.com/a/tc.columbia.edu/file/d/127reUIvzbdssKA34k9U2ZxnaAn0la4K_/view?usp=sharing A power point. 

[jaeame-blog]

BREAKING: Eminem's Not Afraid; Rips into Donald Trump in Rap Gone Viral | Eminem

Watch the censored version of the video of him. Eminem ignited a social media firestorm at the BET awards Tuesday with the release of a blistering rap on President Donald Trump. In case you missed it, Eminem is coming off a legendary cypher Tuesday night at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards, where he attacked Donald Trump for a ferocious 4-minute freestyle. Eminem attacked President Donald Trump in a rap video broadcast during the BET Hip-Hop Awards on Tuesday night that went viral.

In a four-minute-long rap shot in a car park in Detroit, a hooded Eminem, also known as Marshall Mathers, launched an expletive-laden tirade against Trump while a group of young men watched on from the sidelines. In a four-minute-long rap shot in a car park in Detroit, a hooded Eminem, also known as Marshall Mathers, launched an expletive-laden tirade against Trump while a group of young men watched on from the sidelines. Rapper Eminem rapped a four-and-a-half-minute freestyle targeting President Donald Trump on Tuesday night.In a four-minute freestyle rap, the rapper slammed Donald Trump for his outdated ideologies and racist tendencies. Rapper Eminem offered a detailed and searing critique of US President Trump, using his skills to lambaste the commander-in-chief and his policies during a performance broadcast as part of the BET Hip Hop Awards.

Since the inaugural BET Hip Hop Awards in 2006, the ceremony's claim to fame has been the prerecorded BET Cyphers freestyles.

[vileart]

Tricknological Dramaturgy: B Dolan @ Edfringe 2017

Sage Francis & B Dolan present

TRICKNOLOGY

The Show That Promises To Fix Your Life In One Hour

**SNAPCHAT (BDolanSFR) or INSTAGRAM (BDolanSFR) message for a free Physic Reading**

6:35pm 4th -27th August @New Town Theatre Tickets: http://bit.ly/Tricknology

Following their award winning and smash success 2016 Fringe debut show ‘Strange Speech/Famous Development’, Sage Francis & B.Dolan are back to bring us ‘TRICKNOLOGY’. 

In this hour-long demonstration of patented spoken word, freestyle techniques, motivational daredevils, freestyle psychic readings the legendary Epic Beard Men expose the diabolical trickery

of slam poets, battle rappers, improv comics, sh*t mentalists, self-help gurus, li(f)e coaches, faith healers and reality TV presidents. This is what ‘The Secret’ would be if it actually worked. And if it was funny. 

'Think it, see it, feel it, know it, smell it, stop it!' 

It's time to violently open your chakras and get your squad goals realigned by these two monsters of the stage.

What was the inspiration for this performance?

Many people report feeling as if they’ve shifted into a simulation or an ‘alternate universe' in the past year.  It’s almost as if we are living in some kind of worst-case-scenario timeline where Prince, David Bowie and Charlie Murphy have died, democracy is being hacked, social media is collecting detailed analytics about us while basic facts are in hotly contested dispute, and our global fate is being manipulated daily via Reality TV production tactics.  

This performance was conceived to investigate why and how that shift could possibly have happened.  We approached this as two writers who wanted to investigate and monetize your ability to hack those glitches in the human mind, and talk about how charlatans, demagogues, slam poets, and even we as rappers rely on things like “Confirmation Bias” and bait-and-switch to manipulate a captive audience.  

Is performance still a good space for the public discussion of ideas?

I think it may be more important now than ever, for many reasons.  Everything about our modern life encourages us to consume media and sound off about it on our timelines in isolation.  Just being together in a physical space and experiencing the same thing can feel like an inherently political act, even if the subject-matter isn’t.   

The ability to look at each other and talk about ideas with no screens in between feels very vital to me.  Shows have a new feeling this year, and people have a different look in their eye when you talk to them.  That look lets me know people need to be here. 

How did you become interested in making performance?

I don’t ever remember making a conscious choice to be a performer.  For as long as I can remember, I was commanding people’s attention.  Even when I had no idea what to do with it.  So I tried a lot of things.  Sage Francis and I have both performed in a lot of ways.  

We met as spoken word artists, work together as rappers, have both performed with or without a DJ or a band... in a thousand different settings and crowd-sizes.  With crowds who sometimes don't speak our language.    At this year’s Fringe I’ll be attempting, for the first time, to perform as a cold-reading psychic.  It’s been a continual process of developing through those different modes and shows and fleshing out who I am / can be onstage over the years I think.   So my continuing interest and passion comes from pursuing and developing that always.    

Is there any particular approach to the making of the show?

With this show, Sage Francis & I started by assembling scraps of ideas we were inspired or struck by.  Documentaries, books, Youtube videos, instrumentals, and ideas we wanted to riff on.  We’re in constant contact throughout the year due to our music work, so for awhile we were just passing ideas back and forth and adding them to a google doc. 

Then at a certain point we started drawing connections between modes of performance and ideas to perform, and making an outline.  Bits of writing started to come together and sections started to get fleshed out and attached to musical ideas.   

We are going to be leaving a hopefully manageable amount of room in the show for improvisation however, and I expect the show to be ‘written’ live in some sense.  

I think Francis also is planning on bringing some of the interactions together as we go and trying different things, as our aim is to give the show a "Self-Help Seminar" feel and flow.  In a few sections I’ve written a couple different variations on the ’script' that I can move about within, or tailor to an audience member I’m talking to…  I expect both of us to experiment with deliveries and beats like a stand-up comedian would, throughout.  

Does the show fit with your usual productions?

Not at all.  Haha.  Not at fucking all.  Which I think we’re both excited about.   The usual for both of us is an hour long rap show with bits of spoken word mixed in, or performing time-trusted songs and pieces that people know and like on record.  

We will incorporate some of that this go around, but we’re both also attempting to do a lot of new and experimental material.  

What do you hope that the audience will experience?

Anything short of a psychotic break is fine.  Transcendent moments and spontaneous emotional release may occur.  During the show we will aim to provide moments of hope, despair, anxiety, bewilderment, confusion and delight.  

We will paint a dark picture with bright colors.  We intend to act like we are absolutely positive this shit is going to change your life, and if it doesn’t then we can’t be held responsible and it’s on YOU.  We send the positive energy out into the universe, collect our guarantee, and go back to our awesome lives.  I can't jumpstart your battery if you're not gonna put the clamp on the lead, you dig?

What strategies did you consider towards shaping this audience experience?

As mentioned, we mined a couple modes of performance that have been dominating our attention lately in regard to the state of the world.  First, we watched Donald Trump perform at his stump speeches for a year.  We watched Tony Robbins and Deepak Chopra documentaries and perceived their modes of performance and performative personal narratives.  

We also consulted both of our own back catalogues for some themes and performances that could be repurposed or brought into the show.  From there Francis went nuts procuring costumes and props.  I started giving freestyle psychic rap readings to fans one at a time via Snapchat to try and figure out how that part of the show could go.  

I also researched cold-reading and received a number of psychic readings. With other parts of the show that are more like monologues, songs or poems it’s been a more traditional memorization / rehearsal process.  

So it’s been a very unusual prep process, which is still underway heading into our first show.  

FINGERS CROSSED.  FRINGE FESTIVAL. EPIC BEARD MEN.  ADVANCED PLAYER MODE.  TRICKNOLOGY.

SAGE FRANCIS and B. DOLAN are two internationally renowned hip-hop lyricists & spoken word poets. Born and raised in Rhode Island, the duo share over 30 years collective touring history. 

Both dynamos - respectively touted for their lyricism, activism, humour & performance art - are represented in the UK by Scroobius Pip’s Speech Development label.

Each moved to New York City in search of the art-form, stumbled into the spoken word scene & developed a knack for razor sharp lyricism & stagecraft. Sage became an internet hit & received wide media critique in 2001 for his powerful, post 9/11 song ‘Makeshift Patriot’ & later formed Strange Famous Records. B Dolan has been releasing records on SFR since 2008. The performer enjoyed wide-spread attention for his activism in addressing homophobia in Hip-Hop and notably for his video single/campaign “Film The Police” which Russell Brand learns about in a highly entertaining episode of ‘The Trews’ In 2016, Dolan launched the ‘Make Racists Afraid Again’ hat campaign to counter-act not just President Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ merchandise line but to express solidarity with those opposing racism, homophobia and fascism worldwide. Make Racists Afraid went viral. It was adopted by protests far and wide, from Germany to USA. It even found it’s way onto USA Open golfer Andrew Johnston’s wardrobe.  A Synergy Concerts & One Inch Badge presentation @SynergyConcerts / @OneInchBadge / @BDolanSFR / @SageFrancis / @New_TownTheatre / @TheStandComedyClub

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Mike Wasilewski on Purpose, Clarity, and Making Cool Things

Mike Wasilewski, Co-Founder and COO of Frank Collective, is in the business of branding and making cool things. His thoughts on design trends, inspirations, and projects are covered here.

Name: Mike Wasilewski, Co-Founder & CCO of Frank Collective Location: Brooklyn, NY Design school attended: The College of Saint Rose, Albany, NY

How would you describe your work? Can you talk through the design philosophy of Frank Collective?

It’s branding. Everything I do is some sort of brand building—whether that’s evolving, creating, or maintaining a brand through strategy, identity, web, packaging, marketing, etc. I aim for my work, and the work my team makes at Frank, to be clear, emotive, smart, and honest. Clear work is immediate. It isn’t nuanced, abstract, or understated with messaging—it communicates clearly in a way that isn’t hard to get. Clarity is so important, especially today when you have to fight for people’s attention. They aren’t waiting around for your work, nor are they endlessly nit-picking it in meetings like we do all day. When you get their attention, you only have a split-second to grab hold of it — it’s best to be clear when you do.

Honest work resonates with your target audience. They see something in it and recognize that you see them. Branding is empathy when done right. It goes beyond trends, demographics, and yourself to a big simple core truth. So don’t impose your own designer/creative/marketer viewpoint, know how to get out of your own way and get in to your audience’s mindset.

Emotive work evokes a response from your audience that no logo-generator-thing-a-bobber can create. When you elicit an emotion from someone, good or bad, you’re creating something meaningful.

Smart work is interesting. It makes you think a little and give that head nod of appreciation. That “you’re in on the joke” or the “ah that’s so cool they did that” type of acknowledgement that makes your work memorable.

If all of the above is in place, everything else should follow easily.

Where do you find inspiration?

I don’t have a single source of inspiration. This might sound cliche, but just getting out there and living life is the best kind of inspiration. Doing that allows you to build a catalogue of experiences that you can draw upon when thinking about work. And depending on what you’re working on you can find it from almost any source. That and Pinterest.

With that said, my first inspiration was my teenage obsession with freestyle BMX bikes, and I wanted to find a way to work within the industry. I thought if I was a designer I could get a job working at a bike magazine because I would be better at setting type than riding a halfpipe. While I do enjoy the work I do today, I’m still holding out for that bike magazine.

Who are some of your favorite designers or artists?

Wow. I have so many that I straight up idolize and reference constantly to my staff and students. Currently, Scott Dadich is one of my favorite designers/creative directors in recent years. I remember being so amazed by the pages of Wired when he was at the helm. I would pour over every page of it — oftentimes just gawking at the page for 1 minute saying “Damn thats amazing” then another minute going “man, I wish I did this” then another minute of “gah this is so smart! This is the stuff I want to make!” … and then I would read the article.

I also really love Aaron Draplin’s simple and entertaining explanation of his work and the total apparent joy he gets from it. He knows what he likes and does it his way unapologetically — and for good reason — he’s so talented! Read his book and its apparent that that man lives his truth.

I always liked Tibor Kalman’s wit and conceptual approach to everything. Michael Bierut’s clear and simple rationale and scalability to all his design systems. Caleb Owen Everitt’s distinct and dusty all-American style. Malika Favre’s illustrations are beyond smart and masterful – I can look at them all day long.  

Do you have a favorite among all the projects you’ve worked on?

I don’t actually. And that’s because I don’t have a single favorite project. I like many projects for many reasons.

I really love when we work with entrepreneurs who are passionate about what they’re doing, and we can bring it to life for them. These are people who are betting the farm on an idea they have and have a lot of pressure to deliver on that idea from investors, family, friends, and themselves. Giving shape and form to a brand for them is very fulfilling for myself and my team. We really get invested in their vision.

I also always dig a project if I’m working on it with great people that I want to be around. It doesn’t matter what it is. It could be a crazy last minute deadline, a simple revision to a brand guideline, or a pro-bono project for a friend. As long as I’m working with people that I enjoy being around it’s all good in my book.

Is there a project that stands out to you as having been the biggest challenge of your career so far?

This isn’t necessarily something that is remotely a challenge today, but back when I was getting started, it was a really tough thing for me to learn — and is something that I hope I never lose sight of. And that is: anything and everything can be awesome.

I was in my first year at Radical Media and it was time to review with our creative director. When I start showing him the comps of the same logo over and over again at various sizes on all these t-shirt mockups, he just says “Would you wear this t-shirt? Do you think its cool?” 22-year-old me just says, “it’s what we designed though.” He asked me again “yeah but is this the coolest t-shirt ever? Would you wear this out tonight with your friends? If you don’t think it’s cool then how will I? And then how will our client?”

This was the first time that I realized that everything and anything can and should be awesome. And branding is a way of surfacing that innate awesomeness. It’s a challenge to do this but you can make anything interesting if you try. A few years ago you wouldn’t care much about a meal prep service, but you care about Blue Apron today. Socks, have you ever heard a more boring word such as socks? But what about Bombas? They’re awesome! Why? Because they aren’t just socks – they’re Bombas, a better sock both functionally and ethically.

I understood what had to be done in that moment and went into a t-shirt designing fever dream. And made the coolest t-shirts I could with the elements I had to work with.

What’s your best advice for designers today? Should designers follow “best practices”?

Don’t follow trends blindly. Acknowledge them, critique them, understand what works and why—then take that into account as you make something that works for your task at hand. Just because it worked well for someone else doesn’t mean it will work for you.

You’re a consumer too. Step back often and ask yourself “If I never saw this — does it make sense?” So many times I’ve done this with my own work and its been for the better.

If you’re in a meeting debating the color with someone, you’re having the wrong conversation. What I mean by that is everything you do should have purpose and intention. You are a designer, so nothing should be a flippant design decision. You chose that typeface for some rational reason. You made the very specific color palette because it evoked an energy. The tone of voice you selected is relatable. As the designer you know why you made these decisions, but it’s often hard to put them into words or we forget that not everyone is a designer.

Find more Frank Collective here and more Mike here.

Interview by Daniel Schloss

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